SINGAPORE - In the second uniform derby of the season, Home United were victorious over Warriors FC when the former claimed a 2-1 win tonight over at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday (April 22) evening.

When the sides last met at the Bishan Stadium in February, both teams had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

In a first-half full of tough tackles, the Protectors got on the scoresheet first in the 20th minute. Latching onto a pass from Azhar Sairudin, Danish forward Ken Ilso squared a low ball across goal for Korean midfielder Song Ui Yong to tap in.

Although Home were the more dominant side in the match, a defensive lapse presented an equaliser to the Warriors. In the 63rd minute, miscommunication between Home custodian Hyrulnizam Juma'at and defender Sirina Camara allowed Warriors goal-poacher Jonathan Behe to intercept and tap into an empty net.

However, Home were rescued by Ilso in the 86th minute. After playing Camara down the left flank, the Dane guided in the resulting cross to net his fifth goal of the campaign.

Home moves up to fifth in the nine-team standings with 12 points, leapfrogging the Warriors (9 points).

In yesterday evening's other match, Albirex Niigata opened up a three-point gap at the top of the table after beating Brunei DPMM 2-1 in Bandar Seri Begawan. Azwan Ali gave the defending champions the lead in the 57th minute but a brace from Atsushi Kawata (72nd and 87th) sealed victory for the visitors.

The White Swans now lead the standings on 20 points after nine games, three ahead of Tampines Rovers, who have a game in hand.

The Straits Times

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